Officials in Lexington, Ky., have cast their vote on the push to relocate two Confederate statues from outside a former courthouse that is being converted into a visitors center.
According to CBS News, the proposal to move the two statues that were erected to honor Confederate officers John Hunt Morgan and John C. Breckinridge was unanimously approved by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council after almost three hours of public testimony in support of the resolution.
The statues will not be immediately removed from the courthouse, however, and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, who originally called for the relocation after the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., has some 30 days to pick a new spot for the statues to stand.
However, Gray is happy with the outcome of the vote, saying that the city is “taking responsibility to do the right thing.”
“Confronting our history is often difficult ... and uncomfortable,” Gray said. “We all know, in many ways, this war is unfinished. It did not put an end to the vicious and violent reach of unrepentant racism. An important step we can take toward finishing it means facing up to our history.”
Nonetheless, nothing is ever easy with bureaucracy, apparently, and the council does not, in fact, have the final say on the issue. The city will still have to ask permission from a state military heritage commission before going ahead with any relocation.
The state military heritage commission’s next meeting isn’t scheduled until November. However, officials said they intend to ask for a special meeting in September.
“Any requests received will be voted on by the commissioners once they have had an opportunity for review and discussion,” the state Heritage Council said in a statement. “Until then, it would not be appropriate for any one commission member ... to comment about any possible outcome.”
Read more at CBS News.